Turkey, Turkei, Türkiye The Cradle of Civilizations

Presented by: Deniz Cakir, Ferhat Zengul, President, Cultural Diversity Club

Geographical Position:Longitude : 36°N to 42°NLatitude : 26°E to 45°E

Total Area :814,578 square kilometers 790,200 are in Asia 24,378 are located in Europe

Geographical Regions :

•Marmara Region

•Black Sea Region

•Aegean Region

•Central Anatolia Region

•East Anatolia Region

•Mediterranean Region

•Southeast Anatolia Region

Anatolia; a land with plenty of natural beauties and historical wealth with rich culturalheritage

Historical Background:

•Hittites (2000-1000 BC)

•Phrygians, and Lydian's (1000-550 BC)

•Hellenistic period (800-130 BC)

•Romans (130 BC- 395 AD)

•Byzantine era (395-1453 AD)

•Anatolian Seljuks (1071-1299 AD)

•Ottoman Empire (1299-1923 AD)

Basic Info Capital: Ankara Official Language: Turkish

A,B,C,Ç,D,E,F,G,Ğ,H,I,İ,J,K,L,M,N,O,Ö,P,R,S,Ş,T,U,Ü,V,Y,Z Population: 71,517,100 (2008)

Largest city: Istanbul (Population: 12,500,000) GDP 2008 estimate  

Total $937.143 billion  (15th largest GDP) Per capita $13,447

Currency Turkish lira 1 USD ≈ 1.7 Turkish lira

Turkey is classified as a developed country by the CIA and as a regional power by political scientists and economists worldwide

Who are Turks

They are the descendants of Turkic nomads from Central Asia and the many ethnic groups that inhabited the former Ottoman Empire.

Turks are the heirs to the cultural traditions of the Ottoman Empire as well as the democratic ideas of Ataturk and the West

Atatürk the Founder of Republic of Türkiye

• Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, he led the Turkish War of Independence

• The first president of the Turkish Republic

Did you know?

Since 1952, Turkey has been a member of NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Turkey is getting closer to European Union membership every passing day

Women granted the right to vote in the local elections

Women granted the right to vote in the national elections

*In the election in 1937 the number of women that were members in the Turkish Parliament was 18, which meant 4.5 % of all.

The only city in the world located on two continents is Istanbul, which has been the capital of three great empires, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman for more than 2,000 years.

The world’s oldest known settlement is in Catalhoyuk in central Anatolia, Turkey, and dates back to 6,500 BC.

St Nicolas – the original Santa Claus – was born in Patara in Turkey and has a church dedicated to him in Demre.

The Virgin Mary spent her last days in Selcuk, İzmir, near the ancient city of Ephesus.

Two of the seven wonders, are located in Turkey The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, and Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

The Seven Churches referred in the Book of Revelation are all found in Turkey: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

The Nicean Creed was established in the 4th centry A.D. by an Ecumenical Council held in what is now the Turkish town of Iznik

Noah’s ark landed on Agri dagi, (Mount Ararat) in eastern Turkey

Turkey and Other Turkic Nations

The most valuable silk carpet in the world is in the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey. Marco Polo's journeys in the thirteenth centuries took him here, and he remarked that the "best and handsomest of rugs" were to be found in Turkey.

Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, the great sufi, poet and philosopher lived in Konya Turkey.

A Haven for Sephardic Jews. Immanual Aboab attributes to Bayazid II the famous remark that "the

Catholic monarch Ferdinand was wrongly considered as wise, since he impoverished Spain by the expulsion of the Jews, and enriched Turkey".

Jews from many countries have been invited to take refuge in the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic:

In 1376 from Hungary In 1394 from France In 1420 from Venice In 1492 from Spain In 1527 from Hungary In 1537 from Italy In 1542 from Bohemia In 1881 and 1917 from Russia In 1933 from Germany

The rich tradition of Turkish cuisine is popular throughout the world

Among The Greatest Cuisines, Turkish Is A Delight (August 1, 2010)-Bonny WolfMany in the food world believe the three great cuisines are French, Chinese and Turkish. (www.npr.org)

Under the Vine and Fig Tree: 500 years of Turkish-Jewish history

Birmingham International Center (BIC), Birmingham, AL

October 31 – November 10, 2010

Reception on October 31 at 3:00 pm (BIC)